Absent AEW star MJF has caught attention by shockingly announcing himself for a major match against a top star in a non-AEW organization. The bout will serve as Friedman’s debut in that company.
AEW has had a working relationship with NJPW for years, and it seems one of its premium stars, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, will finally make his NJPW debut. Today, New Japan hosted Power Struggle, where Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson defeated The Swirl in tag team action.
Following the match, MJF, who has been at loggerheads with Oiwa for weeks, appeared in a pre-recorded message challenging him to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 21 at the Tokyo Dome on January 4.
“It’s the one true champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, MJF. And as you know, I hail from the only country that matters, the United States of America, whilst you hail from Japan. A third-world country. I come from AEW, a place where the best wrestle. You come from New Japan, a place where the best leave. I’m a world champion. I’ve beaten every major name in this industry. Ospreay, Omega, Moxley, just to name a few,” the Triple B holder said.
After naming the superstars he’s defeated, Friedman made demeaning comments about Oiwa’s competition in New Japan being subpar, then offered to put up his Triple B title at Wrestle Kingdom.
“Meanwhile, you lost to that same fat dork, Tsuji, a fake champion, and he beat the ever-loving sh*t out of you as you owed him money. And yet, here I am. Here I am once again offering you the opportunity of a lifetime to wrestle me for the only championship that matters. The Triple B. And h*ll, I’ll sweeten up the deal. I’ll let you wrestle me on the one show that everyone in New Japan kills to be on. Wrestle Kingdom.
The former AEW World Champion ended his speech with a vicious declaration that he would defeat Oiwa with a simple headlock takeover and would embarrass him to the point that he would commit seppuku (cut his stomach).
“If you choose to accept my challenge, I will beat you in the middle of the ring, in the middle of that cr*ppy little Tokyo Dome, with a move that is as simple as a headlock takeover. So, Oiwa, they call you the Grip. I find that name to be quite appropriate, because if you wrestle me, when I’m done with you, you’ll have embarrassed yourself, your company, and your country. So the only thing you’ll be gripping is a sword to commit seppuku because of Big Hebrew.”
Check out his comments in the video below:
MJF was recently part of a historic moment outside AEW
MJF has been absent from AEW programming since All In 2026, after losing to Andrade in the Men’s Casino Gauntlet match. The Salt of the Earth, however, has been making appearances in other promotions, and he made history at a recent indie event.
For those needing a refresher, Pro Wrestling Illustrated named MJF the No. 1-ranked wrestler in its 2026 PWI 500. Meanwhile, Sidney Bakabella earned the No. 500 spot. Both wrestlers appeared at Create-A-Pro Wrestling’s BaseBrawl event last month, which was apparently the first time the No. 1 and No. 500 of the PWI 500 were in the ring together in the year the issue was released. Bakabella noted the same when he shared a picture with Friedman on his X.
Please credit NJPW World on X and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you take quotes from this article.
Get all the hottest wrestling news FIRST by clicking here
Edited by Karan Raj
